Method of constructing concrete buildings



Dec. 2, 1969 QUENTlN 3,482,005

METHOD 0F CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE BUILDINGS Filed April 29, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR' Luc/EN QUE/VTM! BY QM@ d ATTORNEY Dec. 2, 1969 QUENTIN METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE BUILDINGS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 29, 1965 INVENTOR Luc/EN QuENT/A/ ATTORNEY Dec. 2, 1969 1 QUENTIN METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE BUILDINGS Filed April 29, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR UC/EN @UEM-rw ATTORNEY Dec. 2, 1969 L. QUENTIN 3,482,005

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE BUILDINGS Filed April 29, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR L Jo/EN QuE/wmf ATTORNEY Dec. 2, 1969 l.. QUENTIN 3,482,005

METHOD OF CONSTRUCTING CONCRETE BUILDINGS Filed April 29. 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR LUC/EN Que-MTW ATTORNEY Dec. 2., 1969 L. QUENTIN 3,482,005

' METHOD OF CONSTRUOTINO CONCRETE BUILDINGS Filed April 29, 1965 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR L U 3/ 5^/ QUEA/T/A/ ATTORNEY United States Patent O 41 079 Int. Cl. E04b 1/35, 1/04, 5/23 U.S. Cl. 264-33 1 Claim ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE Multistory concrete buildings are constructed by assembling a plurality of rows of generally tunnel-shaped framework elements in aligned and abutting relationship on rails, with the rows parallel to each other and spaced apart, and then casting concrete about the elements. The elements are heated to hasten the setting of the concrete. After the concrete has developed early strength, the elements are partially collapsed and withdrawn by rolling on the rails. Only part of a story is poured at one time, so that the tunnel-like elements can be removed from a previously poured story and immediately repositioned for the pouring of a portion of a higher story.

In the manufacturing o multistory buildings from `concrete it is well known to make the buildings from prefabricated elements such as wall elements and oor slabs which elements are made in a factory, transported towards the building site and interconnected to form the building. The disadvantage of this known method is that the building costs are unfavourably increased by the -great transportation costs While on the building site the elements have to be interconnected and joints have to be made to be sealed. After some time of use the joints often show cracks due to the -fact that the structure is not monolithic.

It is also known to make a building on the building site by pouring the 4concrete between walls of the form work but then a long time is required during which the concrete must be allowed to set before the forms can be removed and this means that before starting the manufacturing of the next oor one has to wait until the concrete of the foregoing floor has been hardened suiciently which not only means that building speed is retarded but also that the concrete of the next floor has to join the concrete of the foregoing floor after a difference in hardening time of in general several weeks. In using this pouring method it is known t-o make use of form work panels which can be applied repeatedly and it is also known to make use of tunnel-shaped form work.

In the manufacturing of prefabricated concrete elements it is known to heat the mold to accelerate. the hardening process of the concrete.

The object of this invention is to provide a method by means of which it is possible to manufacture a building on the building site from lfresh concrete such that a very high building speed is possible such that e.g. it becomes possible to build a living unit lwithin 24 hours. It is a further object of the invention to provide a method by means of -which a better monolithic structure can be obtained notwithstanding the greater speed of manufacture.

It is still another object 0f the invention to provide a method for using form work by means of which transverse walls can lbe made at any desired place between the parallel walls normally obtained by applying tunnel-shaped form work.

The invention now will be further elucidated with reference to the drawings in which:

Patented Dec. 2, 1969 ICC FIG. 1 is a perspective View illustrating the method according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a form work element used in performing the method shown in FIG. l;

FIGS. 3 and 3a are front views upon the inner or back side of a tunnel-shaped form work element with transverse Iwall according to the invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-section according to the line IV--IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a cross-section according to t-he line V-V of FIG. 3, also showing a part of a normal tunnel shaped form work as shown in FIG. 2 and connected with it.

FIG. 1 shows the manufacturing of a 4building according to the invention which building in its unfinished main structure is formed by floors 1 and parallel walls 2 lextendng from the front wall towards the rear wall, and also being parallel to the outer end walls 3 and 4 of nthe entire building. In this way the building is Iformed =by a number of rectangular tunnel-shaped portions or cells and in the example shown in FIG. 1 three adjacent cells together form a living unit or apartment.

The method of manufacturing takes place as described below:

On a floor manufactured during a previous Operation e.g. the floor 5 parallel rails 6 are placed which rails are kept at the accurate distance by rods 7 removably connected with the rails.

Tunnel-shaped form work elements 8 are placed upon the rails by means of a building crane 9 (onl-y partly shown) and said form work elements are provided with means which allow to roll the element over the rails to bring this element in the proper position against elements already placed.

In this Way three rows of parallel tunnels made from tunnel-shaped form work elements are constructed.

On the floor 5 already made working platforms 10 are connected by means of pins engaging holes in the con- -crete oor (not shown) which platforms 10 also support against the outer wall by means fof the struts 11.

Said working platforms 10 are provided with rails 12 which form an extension of the rails 6. On the outer side of the most left hand row of tunnel-shaped form work elements 13 plate-like form work elements 14 are provided having a scaffolding structure with a working platform |15 and ywhich at the -upper end are connected with the tunnelshaped forms by means not shown and at the lower end are supported by members anchoring in the concrete of the end wall of the lower oor.

Similar plate-like form work elements can be placed on the right side of the right hand row of tunnel-shaped elements not shown, if an expansion joint has to be made. One, however, also may make use lof a Afourth row of tunnel-shaped form Work elements.

In the space between the form work elements reinforcement rods 16 can be placed as well as molds 17 for making door openings and the like. Also the necessary electrical equipment as well as water or gas conduits can be placed in the space between and above the form work walls.

The tunnel-shaped elements are provided with hollow panels connected with main supply and discharge conduits 18 and 19 which have to be connected to the conduits 20 and 21 of a heating unit 23. 24 is a fuel tank for the heating unit. As soon as the whole form work is finished and connected with the heating system concrete is poured in the space between the vertical parts of the forms. As soon as the concrete work is finished a net work of reinforcing rods made on the ground at a site of the building and connected to a supporting frame 26 is placed on top of the form work. Simultaneously with the pouring of concrete in the vertical mold spaces the heating system is started and the walls of the forms are heated up to a temperature of about 50 to 85 C. When the reinforcing net work 25 is placed the upper layer of concrete is poured over the top of the forms openings in said floor being made by means of members such as 27. As soon as a certain area of the floor is ready and smoothed it is covered by blocks or plates 28 of heat insulating material some shown not in use on the oor 5. After finishing and covering the floor in this way the concrete is allowed to set during a period of e.g. hours preferably done during the night and after that period due to the heating of the concrete this concrete is sufficiently hardened to allow the removal of the forms which then immediately can be placed on top of the floor just finished or adjacent to it to make the next unit. To this end the height and width of the tunnel-shaped elements are reduced by means to be described later after which the elements are rolled upon the working platform 10 and lplaced on the next site by means of the crane which Workcan be done in the early morning hours provided the rails 6 are already placed. The removal of a tunnel-shaped element is shown at 30.

Due to heating the concrete, the hardening process of the concrete is accelerated such that within the period of less than 24 hours within which the concrete is heated the same hardening result is obtained as within a period of 8 to 15 days without heating. In a system without heating the concrete there is a practical difference of 8 to 15 days in the connection of fresh poured concrete with concrete of an earlier period of the construction. With the system according to the invention the same diiference exists when the pouring of concrete starts but at the end of pouring and hardening the concrete of the next floor there is only a difference in the hardening process of adjacent oors of 24 hours when the next floor is made on top of the foregoing. This means that building does not only take place very quickly but also that a better monolithic structure is obtained.

FIG. 2 shows a tunnel-shaped form work element in its simpliest form. This element consists of the side panels 31 and 32 and two top panels 33 and 34. The side panels 31, 32 and the top panels 33, 34 respectively are connected with each other by a frame work 35 formed by a number of beams which frame work ensures a rigid rectangular position of the side and top panels with respect to each other. By means of horizontal beams 36 forming part of the frame work the two halves of the tunnel are guided with respect to each other such that said two halves can be moved towards each other or away from each other over a short distance which movement is controlled by a rod 37 operating with left hand and right hand screw thread not shown. Between the 0pposite ends of the top panels 33, 34 a bolster or scantling 38 can be shifted by means of screw spindles 39 to ensure an uninterrupted top surface of the form work when the two parts of the tunnel-shaped form work are in the correct position. To remove a tunnel-shaped form work this member 38 is lowered after which the two halves of the tunnel can be moved towards each other by means of the rod 37. The side panels 31 and 32 are provided with screw jacks 40 having a `ball in its lower end to allow rolling of the element over the rails 6. Said screw jacks allow the location of the element at a correct height and enable lowering of the element when it is to be removed.

The panels 31, 32, 33 and 34 are hollow to enable a heated uid to ow through it supplied e.g. by the main conduit 18 and discharged by the main conduit 19 FIGS. 3, 3A, 4 and 5 show a special form of tunnelshaped form work by means of which it also is possible to make transverse walls during the same operation during which the parallel Walls are made. The form work shown in these drawings comprises the side walls 41 and 42 the upper wall 43 and the back wall 44. Each of said walls is formed by 4panels through which a heating fluid such as hot water can flow. Said panels are provided with a conduit extending from one side of the panel towards the other side and reverse to obtain more or less sinuous path and through said conduit or through a hollow space of the panel a heating uid can be fed to heat the outer surface of the walls 41, 42, 43 and 44. These panels, which in the upper portion can be indicated with 43a, 43b, 43C and 43d and in the back wall with 44a, 44h, 44a` and 44d are in the same way as the side panels 41 and 42 connected to a supply conduit 45 with branches 46 and 47 towards the side panels 41 and 42. The upper portions on the back wall are connected to the supply conduit 45 through the conduits 48, 49, 50 and 51. 52 is the main discharge conduit connected with the upper portions through the conduits 53 and 54 or 55 and 56 respectively and through the conduit 57 with the lower conduit 58 upon which the side walls 41 and 42 and the back wall panels are connected.

At the cross-sectional line IV-IV the form work element is divided in two parts which are shiftably coupled and guided with respect to each other by means of the guiding and locking members 59 and 60 and lby means of the tube 61 which at the opposite ends has been provided with left hand and right hand screw thread respectively to move the parts of the form work towards each other or away from each other in the same way as described with reference to FIG. 2.

To allow the movement of the parts of the form work towards each other and still obtain a smooth form work surface when the parts are in the adjusted correct position the upper surface has been provided with a scantling 62 which as appears from FIG. 4 partly extends into the vertical part whilst further a scantling 63 has been yprovided between the vertical parts of the form work. The latter can be moved inwardly by means of the adjusting means 64 formed by screw spindles and after suiciently displacing the scantling 63 inwardly the scantling 62 can be moved according to an inclined path downwardly and away from the back wall by means of similar adjusting means 65.

The side walls 41 and 42 of the form work are provided with two screw jacks 66 having in the same way as described in FIG. 2 a ball in the lower end by means of which the jacks are supported by the U-shaped rails 67 extending parallel to each other and having spaced apart from it a plat 68 defining the correct position of the side walls of the form work and finishing its lower edge. The side walls 41 and 42 are provided with an arm 69 swingably mounted to the inner side of the side walls and having at its outer end a turning wheel 70 the height of which can be adjusted. The drawings show the turning wheel 70 in the non-operative position but this wheel can be placed in front of the side wall of the form work above the rail 67. The back wall has been provided with screw jacks 71 corresponding to the jacks 66.

If such a form work has to be removed after setting of the concrete first of all the scantlings 62 and 63 are withdrawn after which the two parts of the form work are moved towards each other by means of the tube 61 and accordingly made free from the concrete. After this the screw jacks 71 are screwed upwardly after which the the form work is lowered somewhat by means of the screw jacks 66 of the side walls. After this the turning wheels with the arms 69 are placed in their position above the rails 67 and then the form work is brought in a slightly inclined position by turning upwardly the screw jack 66 which is most close to the turning wheel 70. In this position this form work can be rolled by means of the turning wheels 70 and the backwards screw jacks 66 out of the tunnel and unto the working platform. When the form work has to be placed the correct position on the rails 67 is locked by means of the locking members 72. In this position the back wall of the form work abuts against a plate 73 which at the same way as the plate 68 has been connected to an U-shaped rail 74 corresponding to the rail profile 67 but extending perpendicularly to it.

At 75 the places are indicated through which the rods are guided by means of which the pressure of the concrete upon the parts of the form work is taken up. FIGURE 5 shows adjacent to the described special type of tunnelshaped form -work with the back wall still a tunnel-shaped form Work portion of the type described with reference to FIG. 2 which by means of the connecting members 76 and the centre pins 77 are connected with the other form work. 78, 79, 80, 81 and 82 are frame parts to which several parts described above of the form work are connected.

What I claim is:

1. A method of constructing on the building site a multistoried building from concrete or the like, compris- (a) forming a concrete oor,

(b) placing a plurality of rails in parallel relationship on said floor,

(c) removably interconnecting said rails in accurately spaced relationship by means of a plurality of transversely extending members,

(d) placing a number of rectangular tunnel-shaped form work elements upon said rails one behind and adjacent to each other, a number of said form work elements having transverse back Walls with two of said back walls opposite each other to form a transverse wall by the concrete poured between the opposed transverse back walls,

(e) interconnecting said tunnel-shaped elements in a line in parallel relationship with their top surfaces horizontal and coplanar,

(f) connecting plate-like form work elements parallel and in spaced relationship to the outer walls of the outer tunnel-shaped elements forming the side walls of the building,

(g) placing reinforcing rods and molds between juxtaposed walls of adjacent form work elements,

(h) pouring concrete between the vertical walls of said form work elements,

(i) placing a prefabricated Hoor reinforcement in its entirety upon the upper surface of the form Work elements after pouring the concrete between said vertical walls,

(j) pouring concrete over said upper surfaces and oor reinforcement,

(k) covering the concrete which was poured over said upper surfaces and floor reinforcement with heat-insulating material,

(1) heating the vertical and horizontal portions of said form work elements to hasten setting of the concrete,

(m) connecting a work platform to the floor on which said rails rest outside the tunnel formed by said tunnel-shaped form work elements with rails on said platform in alignment with the first-mentioned rails,

(n) reducing the width and height of the tunnel-shaped form work elements after the concrete has set without changing the rectangular form of the tunnelshaped elements, and tilting forwardly the upper ends of the tunnel-shaped form work elements which have transverse back walls by raising the support of each of the last-named elements at the side of the lastnamed element which is opposite the back wall,

(o) rolling said tunnel-shaped form work elements along said first-mentioned rails and onto said platform rails,

(p) hoisting the tunnel-shaped form work elements from said platform rails and lowering them upon previously placed rails on another concrete floor at the next place of application and (q) removing said plate-like form work elements and hoisting them toward said next place of application.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,095,204 5/1914 Golding. 1,554,586 9/1925 Lake. 1,656,423 l/ 1928 Copeman. 1,704,156 v3/1929 Weaver 264-35 X 2,264,054 11/ 1941 Sarosdy 264-32 2,966,718 1/1961 Dave. 3,167,839 2/1965 Gause. 3,037,259 6/1962 Dave 25-131.6 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 947,409 1/ 1964 Great Britain.

ROBERT F. WHITE, Primary Examiner J. H. SILBAUGH, Assistant Examiner Us. C1. X.R. 249-19; 164-34 

